But does it work on water?

November 18, 2014 3:59 PM

Riding a (real) hoverboard with Tony Hawk. Unlike the Funny or Die hoax, this board, made by Arx Pax [supposedly] actually works by using magnetic fields over non-ferrous materials.
posted by quin (6 comments total)

I'm pretty sure this is a deleted double

If this one stays, maybe I can share my BTTF anecdote from that killed thread:

"I really have no other place to share this anecdote. You know in the Cafe '80s, when Ronnie Headroom and Ayatollah Headroom are arguing? Little leotrotsky always thought the Ayatollah was saying 'You must try the Hot Pistachios!' As a result, I filed away in my mind that pistachios must be an Iranian thing. Years later, when it occurred to me to check, I looked it up.

It turns out that they are! The word pistachio actually comes from the Persian name 'Pisteh,' and pistachios are a pretty big deal in Iran. So I was pretty pleased at my little deduction being confirmed accurate, and also pleased at the worldliness of the writers.

So it was pretty disheartening when I finally got a look at the script and saw that he's actually saying "You must try the hostage special!"

I still prefer my line, with the Ayatollah anxious for guests to try a Persian delicacy."
posted by leotrotsky at 4:04 PM on November 18, 2014 [5 favorites]

Now all they need is a city where the streets are literally paved with gold...
posted by Sys Rq at 4:08 PM on November 18, 2014

Um, yeah, no.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 4:11 PM on November 18, 2014

i will remain convinced that these guys are shady marketing hucksters mis-representing what they have until they go down in flames.

also, ea, the kickstarter is still open.
posted by emptythought at 4:18 PM on November 18, 2014

leo- loved that story the first time, loved it again this time.

this thing looks uncontrollable as hell - kind of like those hovercraft kits you used to be able to buy out of the back of Boy's Life or Popular Mechanics (ha, this one).
posted by stinkfoot at 4:24 PM on November 18, 2014 [1 favorite]

emptythought: anything specific about what you think they have vs what they say they have?

It sounds like almost useless for recreation - you need the copper material (it's copper, right?) on the ground for it to work. Might be awesome for factory scenarios...

I just hope they hire Tony Hawk, build a better ramp (that's worthy of actual skateboarders) and let him master this stuff... Because this was him (apparently) just checking it out - imagine him after 100 days on this thing!
posted by el io at 4:29 PM on November 18, 2014